Statistics are important - but they don't tell the whole story.

Statistics are important but they don't tell everything you need to know about schools. The most common school statistics thrown around are standardized test scores. While these are helpful, they just share one snapshot of a student or a school's achievement. We use them here at WCSC, but we try to keep them in perspective.

Last night at Wawasee Middle School, Mrs. Pat Mikel hosted an open house showcasing the projects of the Gifted and Talented students. Think about it for a minute, the students were originally placed there due to their high test scores, yet the rich array of products and performances exhibited went way beyond what can be revealed by a limited test score. They wrote and performed plays, wrote books, conducted research, did oral reports and demonstrated products they had created.

Recently Newsweek magazine put out a list of the best school's in the nation. This article looks into the methods Newsweek used to rank schools. Hint, the wonderful richness and depth of thinking exhibited by our talented students last night would not have been known or revealed by a lone standardized test score.

They are important, but they don't tell the whole story.